Walking down the street in Taormina Sicily, you wouldn’t necessarily think of it as a mecca of shopping excellence, as souvenir shops seem to overtake the scenery as you pass through the city gates. Just after the Teatro Greco, however, high-end shops line the cobble-stoned streets from door to door. Each shop is more beautiful than that last.
Placed strategically between these souvenir shops and cafes, are the high-end boutiques that would make any experienced shopper swoon at even a glance at the window displays. Handmade fine Italian leather bags, shoes, and jackets, and international labels like Prada, Gucci, Marc Jacobs, and Moschino all sit in harmony on the store racks waiting to be browsed through.
Just think- your heart stops at the site of a multicolored authentic python bag that would go great with your brand new silk scarf. You look at the tag; 170 euro is a little bit, okay, a lot, over your budget, but the sales lady assures you that you can get 10% off if you declare the purchase at the airport. You convince yourself that you need this bag, that this bag was made for you, that you will never go a day without this bag. “Okay I’ll take it!” and just like that, you’ve been sold into the fine coercion of the Taormina shops. It only takes a minute, but it’s worth every second you stand in line at the airport waiting to declare your purchase and get that 25 dollars back that you were promised. Maybe you couldn’t even afford the bag, but you’re life is somehow more enjoyable and beautiful because of it.
Even if you aren’t an impulse shopper, there are many more affordable shops to choose from. Several European chain stores appear on the main street including United Colors of Benetton, Yamamay, and Furla. There are even a handful of other stores that have reasonable prices that are filled with dozens of bags, shoes, and clothing. A classmate of mine ended up buying a scarf for about 20 euros in one of these stores.
Some of the shops are your typical holes in the wall that sell every possible article of clothing labeled “Sicily” or the “Godfather” all over them, but some of the souvenirs are unique enough to take a second look at. Among them, various trinkets carved out of Mt. Etna lava are sold along with turquoise and coral jewelry around every corner. My personal favorite souvenirs came from the shops that only sold hand painted pottery. To me nothing says Italy like a piece of painted ceramic. These shops sell anything from huge pasta platters to small tiles. I ended up buying a painted Christmas ornament for 12 euros.
Aside from leather products and souvenirs, there are also jewelry stores around every corner in Taormina. Where there are many fine jewelry stores, there are also dozens of antique jewelry stores. A wide variety of turquoise, coral, and cameos, can be found in almost any of these locations and for varying prices. The more fine quality stores are definitely pricier than the stores with hundreds of one of a kind pieces filling up glass cabinets. I almost settled on a pair of cameo earrings for just 30 euros, but couldn’t find them when I went back to look for them (That’ll teach you to impulse buy). Many of the ladies on the trip wound up with some great earrings.
When it came time for me to make my own purchase in Taormina, I didn’t go crazy, but I did buy something a little more reasonable and very Italian. Nothing says Italy to me more than a pair of leather boots; a pair 5-inch boots that called my name. In a shop just before the city gates, and a little off the main shopping strip, I noticed the boots in a shop named Sfera. They called out to me. Black leather, red soles, with a serious spike heel. I picked up the display model and noticed the price was marked down 55% to 70 euros. I told myself that I would make them mine if I didn’t buy anything else, so by the last day, I did. I went back to the shop and lo and behold, the model pair was the last and as fate would have it, they were my size. I handed over those 70 euros prouder than ever that I was the owner of these killer boots.
Taormina shopping can be anything you want it to be. It can be a classy stroll down the street window shopping, a serious wallet burning excursion full of designer labels that would make anyone back home jealous of you, or it can be a steal, with loads of reasonably priced Italian goods, and antiques that are unique to Sicilian style. Taormina is a must for anyone looking to shop Sicilian style.
Dress like a Local 